is it permissible to apply for claims/grants such as ‘maternity grants/special maternity grants’ if you are paying NIS as part of your legal job requirement? And if the grant is more than that which you have paid to them but you will continue to pay them can one accept this amount and continue to pay til they have paid equivelant to the grant and/or more?

Answer:

Wa Alaikum As Salaam,

Yes, it is permissible to apply for these claims and grants since you are paying NIS. Even if the grant is more than what you have already paid, you can still take it and benefit from it because your employer also contributes to your NIS and these monies are Halal for you to claim and benefit from. Besides this, when you return to work, you will be required to continue to pay your NIS.

Can you say if pension plans that are interest free and accident and emergency medical plans together with education plans for children to go uwi is permissible from Guardian life?

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ANSWER:

As Salaam Alaikum,

Pension plans that are interest free is permissible.

The accident and emergency medical plan is really an ‘Accident Insurance’ offered by Guardian life. This operates like other form of insurances where Gharar (uncertainty) is found. Hence, it will not be permissible.

Education plans for children is another product of Guardian life which encourages one to put aside/save or contribute towards a child’s future education. This on its own is good when it is connected to simply saving monies for the future education of one’s child. However, in many cases an ‘Education plan’ is combined with an insurance. The purpose of being combined with an insurance is that if something happens to the parent or if he/she becomes disable or passes away, then the child will still receive the predetermined payout amount when the plan matures. The Insurance ensures that the child’s education will continue if the savings portion is not sufficient to pay out the child’s education. Therefore if the ‘Education plan’ is combined with savings and insurance, then it will not be permissible due to the unlawful elements present in Insurance. If a person has taken out such a plan, then it will be permissible for him to benefit from the savings portion which was contributed to the fund.

If the ‘Education plan’ deals only with the savings of a person which he contributes on a monthly basis and builds up a fixed fund over several years, then this is permissible.

My question today is based on if Forex Trading is Permissible in Islam?

I have been doing some research for myself but i need advice from you. From certain articles online it is said that the prophet pbuh said it was permissible to trade currencies once it is done immediately and at the current market price.

Now this brings us to trading on the forex market presently. when you trade you either buy or sell a currency pair at a price now that price will fluctuate influencing you to either buy or sell now that moment of buying or selling will come from your own idea or from charts being provided online you then place your money on the trade but lets say you enter at a certain price for buying but the market turns around you will be losing. it is something that is never guaranteed.
(like playing lotto etc you buy a ticket and you either win or lose)
when you enter a trade you either win or lose.

Sorry for the long email but it something i need some clarification on.
I am a revert so I need scholars advice to help me in making these decisions.

JazakAllah Kair

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ANSWER:

Wa Alaikum As Salaam,

Trading in currencies (foreign exchange) is permissible in Islam with the following:-

The Transaction between the two parties must be done immediately without delay on any side.

The two currencies that are traded in, must be exchanged on the spot without delay.

Currencies traded in, must be actually owned and possessed by a person. When the currency exchange takes place, the actual delivery of currency (sold) by the seller must take place, and the actual taking possession of the currency by the purchaser must take place. Both parties must take possession of the currencies traded in, in the same sitting and there must be no delay on any one side.

No element of interest must be present in the transaction.

The above conditions must be present for the validity of trading in currencies.

With respect to Forex trading via the internet, it is seen that some of the conditions laid in Islam for currency trading is not present. For example, when real/actual possession, ownership and delivery must take place, it is seen that in Forex Trading (via the internet), forex traders do not expect to take actual delivery of the currency they are buying, and they do not actually own the currency they are selling. They are simply speculating that the value of one will go up and the value of another will go down.

Similarly, while interest is totally prohibited in Islam, one finds that in Forex trading markets, interest is charged for not using the deal at the same day. In some cases, the agent sells something which he does not possess, and is forbidden in Islam.

Hence, in my opinion, Forex trading markets (via the internet) will not be permissible.

My mom does sales for a living, purchasing of wholesale goods to resell retail.

Once a month she receive goods on credit. She will receive the goods without paying upfront and then she will resell at her retail prices then payback the wholesale company for the goods taken on credit.

Her question, is there an issue with receiving goods and reselling those goods before it is paid for?

Wa Alaikum As Salaam,

There is no prohibition in receiving the goods and then reselling them before paying for them. This is permissible. Her dealings are based on an agreement with the wholesalers, where they have granted her the allowance to sell the goods and then pay for them. This is permissible in Islam.

I would like to know if a deferred annuity is halal to have. Looking forward to your speedy reply.

Wa Alaikum Assalaam,

الجواب و بالله التوفيق

A Deferred Annuity is not halal to have. This ‘Annuity’ is bought from an insurance company where you are required to pay premiums over a period of time. Over an accumulation period of the deferred annuity, your money earns interest at rates set by the insurance company. Hence, it is not permissible.

I’m in need of financial advice…in regards to those Tax Saving Incentive Plans (TSIP) whereby one can reclaim on one’s annual income tax, are there any halal ones available? If so, can you direct me to one?

Also, even if there’s no halal ones available, is it permissible to partake in a plan, not use the interest gained (…and perhaps just donate the equivalent to a needy organisation even though there’s no blessing associated with it) and make the claim for the yearly income tax?

I believe the government said for either $60K or $72K contribution per year in the TSIP, you can claim it back when you file your income tax.

The Bank or Insurance company you take it with will invest it and it’ll “grow”. I’m not sure whether this will be considered halal or not, that’s why if it’s not, if it’s okay to take out the plan but give away the profit or whatever gains that you get back on the total contribution and just be able to claim back on the income tax.

I think you can also claim back on an annuity plan…not sure if it’s one and the same, but the premise of the reclaiming was to encourage savings I believe.

Please advise what should be done in this matter جزاك الله

Wa Alaikum Assalaam,

الجواب و بالله التوفيق

There isn’t any TSIP which is halaal here in Trinidad. With Respect to partaking in a plan even though you do not want to use the interest gained, will be questionable. The reason for this is that when you take part in a plan, your money is pooled together with monies of other contributors and invested or placed in a manner to receive interest. If the monies are invested in companies that deal with haram products, then your monies would have been invested in something which is haram. And if interest is generated, then it means that interest has been generated upon your money also.

Banks, most of the time, invest in higher-yielding fixed income investments like mortgage, securities, treasury bonds and notes etc. All of these bring about interest. Insurance companies also invest in various investments which include bonds and money market funds. These also bring about interest.

It is not permissible to invest your money in a plan or company which you know will invest your money in unlawful products or use your money to earn interest.

Claiming back an annuity plan means that you will have to take out an annuity plan. This plan is only issued by an insurance company which means that your monies paid to the insurance company would be used by the company to bring about returns and interest. Hence, it will not be permissible.

I would like to know if the following are permissible in Islam please:

Is it permissible to use money borrowed from a non-Muslim person who took a loan to lend it to the Muslim person?

Is it permissible for a Muslim person to act as a guarantor for a loan that a non-Muslim is taking?

Wa Alaikum Assalaam,

الجواب و بالله التوفيق

It is permissible for one to use money borrowed from a non-Muslim who took a loan to lend it to the Muslim.

If the non-Muslim is taking a loan which requires him to pay interest, then the Muslim cannot become a guarantor for such a loan. However, if the loan is free from interest, then the Muslim person can act as a guarantor for it.

I would like to know what some halal investments are in T&T. Is unit trust permissible? Also gov’t bonds, corporate bonds, mortgage funds and property and equity funds. I was approached in particular by someone from maritime life about these interns of an annuity plan.

If these are not permitted can u recommend some that are? JazakAllah.

Wa Alaikum Assalaam,

الجواب و بالله التوفيق

These are not permissible to invest in. With respect to the Unit Trust, monies of the client are invested into both Halal (Lawful) and Haram (unlawful) schemes/companies. The client does not know exactly where his/her money has been invested.

Gov’t bonds, Corporate bonds, and mortgage funds all pay interest and this is haram in Islam. A property fund is one in which an investment is made in a property, and there seem s to be no problem in investing here except that the investor must agree to suffer a loss in his investment if there is a depreciation in the value of the property. The return must also not be a fixed return. It must be based on the value of the property, when it is sold in proportion to the amount invested by a person. The property in which your monies are invested must be an ethical one which is not involved in haram activities. In short, a property fund must be Shariah compliment before you invest in it.

With respect to equity funds, only that which is Shariah Compliant, will be permissible to invest in.

With respect to those investments which are permitted in Islam, over here, there isn’t any official Islamic Financial Body that does investments and can ensure that companies are Shariah Compliant for a Muslim to invest in. it is up to the individual to look at the options he/she has in doing his/her private investments through real estate or through any other halal avenue.

Asalaamu alaikum. I asked an alima about whether or not it was gambling if co-workers got together and put money in a pot in a competition to lose weight. At the end of the competition, the person who lost the largest percentage of weight would get the money. The alima told me that that was indeed gambling. So when I told the other members of the group, they asked me for hadith proof. One member proposed that the winner would just get a gift card and certificate. Would that make it halal? Someone also posed the question as to what the difference between this competition and a basketball tournament where the participants have a joining fee and the winner wins a cash prize or trophy.

Answer:

Wa Alaikum Assalaam,

الجواب و بالله التوفيق

According to the Scholars, whenever there is the possibility of winning or losing and uncertainty of acquiring something paid for, it is considered a gamble. Therefore, every such game, competition etc. which carries this implication will be regarded as a gamble.

In the Competition you have mentioned, money is paid by each person to afford him/her the chance to win. A person who has paid the money can lose his money or win all. This is gambling as mentioned by the Scholars.

As such, instead of doing what you propose, the competition should be held in a manner where there is an understanding among all the members that they will enter a competition of losing weight, and whoever loses the most weight, then the other members (co-workers) will join to purchase a gift/prize for that person. This will be allowed since in this manner, the winner would not be one who has put money to the competition.